On the day of Summer Wilson's wedding, he receives news his ex-lover has shown up, seemingly to disrupt the happy nuptials. Suddenly Summer is awash with doubt, wondering how it is possible to love two men.
It all began on Memorial Day at his college graduation party, where the privileged son of a noted New York financier meets the sexy and elusive Aaron Carlton. After a secret night of passion, it is Aaron's words which inspire Summer to pursue his dream, despite the obligations he has to his moneyed parents.
Tossing all responsibility to the wind, Summer lands at the family's lake house in the upstate New York village of Windsheer, where he meets the exotic Dante Ferraro, an Italian visitor to his own family's winery. There, amidst the growing vines, Summer and Dante indulge their obvious attraction, and before long the two men are inseparable ... in town, and in bed.
But Aaron is not through with Summer, nor are his parents, and as conflict rages in Summer's life, it's his relationship with Dante that receives its greatest challenge. Suddenly Summer is awash with doubt, wondering how it is possible to love two men -- the man his parents approve of, wealthy Aaron Carlton, or sexy Dante Ferraro. Which man will win his heart?
Summer rounded the last aisle and found himself approaching the checkout counters. Store this size, there were only two and there was a line at each. He chose one, waited his turn while two men stood in front of him. One was a guy who seemed to be in his forties, dark hair tinged with a bit of gray, and he had engaged the second man in conversation. It was the second man who caught Summer’s attention and kept it. With time on his hands till his turn at the checkout, he had plenty of it to check out this guy. He was clearly the younger of the two, perhaps twenty-five or -six, no more than thirty for sure. Jet-black hair, cut short, very stylish, with a handsome face complimented by a thick scruff on his face; he was dressed in shorts and flip-flops, a blue T-shirt that showed off thick, hairy forearms. Summer felt his body respond to the guy, thinking about how sexy the man looked ... those legs, Summer could tell he was fit, with strong calves and again, a generous coating of dark hair. Both men were smiling, talking animatedly, so obviously they knew each other. Most probably did in this town.
Just then Summer saw both men turn, look at him.
The older man smiled, nodded. “You must be Summer, right?”
“Excuse me?”
“Summer Wilson,” he said. “I’m Pete Sistern, my wife Gina just met you.”
“Yes ... yes, just a short while ago. How did you know ...”
“Your mother described you as only a mother can ... and then Gina followed suit. Via text message.”
“I think I’m going to get a complex about people recognizing me.”
He waved off the comment with a laugh. “Windsheer, it’s a small world.”
Summer stood there, wondering if the genial Pete Sistern was going to introduce him to the sexy stranger at his side. A quick flash in his mind had Summer wondering if the guy was one of those rumored artsy types and had to hope so. His eyes must have darted over, because Pete suddenly put his hand on the man’s shoulder.
“Oh, pardon my bad manners ... I should have introduced you ...”
Before Pete could get another word in, the other man extended his hand to Summer. He stared at it first, realized he probably looked ridiculous hesitating, so he accepted the handshake. “Hi, Summer Wilson.”
“Dante Ferraro,” he said, a slight accent to his voice.
Dante, a fiery name that sounded nice as it rolled off his tongue, nice inside Summer’s mind, too. “Good to meet you.”
“Summer’s going to be staying at Aubergine ... you know, the house next to ours.”
“I hope you enjoy your stay,” said Dante, smiling, dimples opening up his attractive face.
“Thanks, I just arrived ...” he said, indicating his full cart. “Guess I needed some stuff.”
By now the line had moved forward and as Dante was first, he stepped forward.
Ten minutes later, Dante and his groceries were gone, but not before his and Summer’s eyes locked and they exchanged smiles. Then it was his turn to pay, with Pete waiting, checking his phone, quoting another text from Gina. Eventually, he and Pete rolled their carts out into the parking lot to their cars. Pete’s eyes fell enviously on the Jaguar. “Not many people have these kind of cars here, you might find yourself saddled with a nickname before long. Summer is just too easy in a seasonal town like this. Maybe I’ll get it started, probably call you Jag. What do you think?”
“Makes me sound like a television show.”
“We’ll see,” said Pete with a good-natured laugh that mimicked his wife’s. “So, I’ll see you later, Jag. Hey, by the way, it’s Tuesday night, so maybe you can join us for drinks over at Sandy’s Tavern, two for one till nine o’clock.”
“Who’s us.”
“Me and Gina, it’s kind of our mid-week date-night. Keeps things fresh.”
“I wouldn’t want to intrude,” Summer said.
“What if I invited Dante?”
Clearly the Gina Sistern gossip network had made its way to her husband’s texts.
“What time should I be there?”
